Blower for clothes pressing machines



April 2o, 1943.

F. lLAUGHLIN BLOWER FOR CLOTHES PREssING MACHINE Filed Aug. 30, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENZOR, zl'ghlzn.

ATTD R N EYB April zo, 1943..y F;` LAUGHLIN 2,317,279

BLOWER FOR CLOTHES PRESSING MACHINE Filed Aug. 30, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENToR, Zserazgklm,

ATTD R N EYS Patented Apr. 20, 1943 U Nil@ D' STATES PAT ENT FFI'C BLOWER FOR CLOTHES PRESSIN G MACHINES 1 Claim.

My invention relates to new and useiul iinprovements in blowers for clothes pressing machines.

An important object of my invention is the provision of a clothes pressing machine that includes means for passing atmospheric air through the garment to rapidly dryA the same after it has been pressed in the conventional manner by forcing steam under pressure therethrough. Another object of the yinvention is to provide an improved blower construction which is compact, durable and efcient in operation.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the drawings, forming a part of this specication, and wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same:

Figure 1 is a front elevation ofV a device embodying my invention,

Figure 2 is an end elevation of a pressing machine embodying the blower of my invention,

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the air blower embodying my invention, and

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on line 4-41of Figure 3.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral' I Il designates the supportingbase of a clothes pressing machine. The supportingbase is of substantially standard construction comprising a box-like support II having a top I2'of substantially'larger dimension, which top supports the lower stationary pressing buck I3. Rockably supported above the buck I3 is an upper buck Ill which is movable toward and away from the lower buck in the conventional manner. The longitudinally spaced upstanding arms one of which is shown at I6 formed on the support II rearwardly of the top I2 are connected at their free end thereof by a rod I'I which pivotally supports the rocker arm I8. 'I'he upper end of the rocker arm is bifurcated to provide the arcuately curved fingers 2l which are bolted or otherwise xedly secured to the upper buck I4. The portion 22 oi the arm extends downwardly and rearwardly and terminates in an integral counterweighi; 23 of sufcient weight to normally hold the upper buck in the raised or elevated position illustrated in the drawings.

Steam is supplied to the lower buck through a pipe 1D which connects with the upstandng portion 61 of the pipe B4 and extends forwardly along the side of the base Il to connect with a valve Il constructed and operated in the manner hereinbelow described. The valve is mounted at the side of the machine to the right of the operator and a foot lever 'I2 is pivoted to the machine and operatively associated with the valve through the medium of a linkage 13. When the operator depresses the pedal 'I2 the linkage 'i3 will open the valve 'II to permit the steam from the pipe 10 to ow into the pipe le which extends along the mentioned side of the base and terminates rearwardly thereof. An elbow connection 'l5 is connected to the end of the pipe iii and the pipe 'I6 also connecting with the elbow extends hori- Zontally along the rear `wall of the base and in substantially spaced parallel relation with the portion 65' of the pipe lill. The pipe l5 terminates at the opposite side of the base and the elbow connection 'I'I applied thereto also connects with an upstanding length of pipe 'i3 which terminates at substantially the level ol the top I2 of the'supporting. base to receive the elbow connection 19. 'I'he pipe also connected to the elbow 'I9' extends inwardly along the left side of the base which pipe terminates directly below the lower buck., From thence the steam line leads tothe interior of the lower buck in a known manner.r i

It may thus he seen that steam may be supplied to the lower buck independently of the movements, ofthe upper buck by the mere expediency of depressing the foot pedal l2. As soon as the, valve/l2 is opened to permit communicationbetween the pipes 'ISI and 'lai the steam will flow ldirectly into the lower buck and be discharged thjrough the top surface thereof and against a garment nlaced thereon.

I have found that the garment dries more rapidly and smoother if atmospheric air is caused to pass therethrough under pressure after the steam has been applied thereto. I have therefore mounted a blower 84 on a standard 85 1ocated rearwardly of and to the left of the presser. The blower is unique in its construction and this construction is best illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. In view of the fact that it is at all times necessary to maintain an adequate supply of steam for the pressing operations I propose to use a blower which is steam operated and which is connected in the steam conducting system hereinabove described. By operating the blower by means of steam in the system a substantial saving is permitted and a highly efficient operation is achieved.

As best illustrated in Figure 3, the blower casiing 86 is divided into an air chamber 81 and a steam chamber 88, the chambers being separated by a vertical partition wall 89. A spindle 90 is centrally journalled for rotation in the partition 89 and the opposite ends thereof extend into the air and steam chambers thereof. A steam operated turbine rotor 9| is xedly mounted on the end of the spindle extending into the steam chamber. Steam is supplied to' the chamber 88 through the pipes 92 and 93. The pipe 92 connects with the pipe 64 hereinabove referred to and the pipe 93connects with the casing 86. The pipes 92 and 93 are connected by a valve of the foot operated type, which, when open, permits the steam to flow through the pipe 92 and 4its center, the outer. Wall of the fan chamber is provided with an intake opening 99 whereby air is drawn into the air chamber for discharge through the conduit into the lower buck.

It is customary in the art to provide an auxiliary device for steaming the shoulders of a garment, which device is commonly known as a puffyiron. I have illustrated such a device in connection with my pressing machine, which device is here designated by the numeral |02. This device is conventional in the art and a detailed description of the same is therefore thought to be unnecessary. I carry steam Yto the puiiron through the pipes |03 and |04, the pipe |03 being connected to the steam supply pipe'60 and the pipes |03 and |04 being connected by an elbow |05. The terminal end of the pipe |04 is connected to a valve |06 of the type illustrated in Figure '7 and the valve is provided with an upward extension |01 to flow from the valve and into the puffiro'n. The Valve |06 is operated by the foot pedal |08 in the manner described above, the pedal being connected to the stem 48 of the valve by means of the connecting rod |09.

The operation of the device is as follows:

The operator first places the garment Yto be pressed on the top surface of the lower buck |3 and then places his `fooi: on the middle pedal 26 to lower the top buck I4 into pressed relation with the top of the garment. The usual procedure when operating the foot lever 24 is to manually grasp the handle 39 and to pull downwardly thereon to aid in lowering the upper buck. As soon as the upper buck is moved to the lowered position, the operator removes his foot from the pedal 26 and manually holds the upper buck in the lowered position while the steam enters the upper buck through the automatically opened valve 49. When the operator removes his foot from the pedal 26 he places it on the lever 12 to' open the valve 1| whereby the steam may enter the lower buck.

After the garment has been pressed in this manner, the operator removes his foot from the lever 12 and permits the upper buck to move to the raised position whereby to automatically close the valve 49. The operator then places his foot on the lever to cause the steam to bypass into the steam chamber of the blower whereby to drive atmospheric air under pressure into the lower buck to dry the garment; thereon.

It is to be understood that the form of my in-Y vention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in the size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention nor the scope of the appended claim.

Having thusdescribed my invention, I claim: A blower of the character described comprising a cylindrical housing, a standard formed integral with the housing and adapted to support the lat- Y ter with its axis disposed horizontally, the said housing having one end completely closed and the opposite end closed with the exception of a restricted central opening, a transverse .partition formed intermediate the ends of the housing and in registration with the partition dividing the interior into a steam chamber and an air chamber, an axially extending spindle rotatablyV journaled in the center of the partition having an end portion projecting into the steam chamber and an opposite end portion extending into the S air chamber, the bottom of ithe steam chamber having an inlet, a steam supply pipe connected with the said inlet, the top of the said steam chamber having an exhaust outlet, a steam rotor wheel xed on the spindle within the steam chamber for `ro' tation by Vthe steam admitted through the inlet, the said air chamber having an outlet nozzle at the lower portion thereof, and a fan fixed to the spindle within the air chamber adapted to draw air through the central end opening therein and discharge the same under pressure through the bottom outlet of the air chamber.

FOSTER LAUGHLIN. 

